She Loves Me Like Jesus
by AnGeLs and DaEmOns
Summary: Lyla Mathers has lost most of her family, and only has two friends left in this cruel world filled with walkers. Will she rise to the occasion and help defeat the darkness not only in the world, but in herself and in the redneck that sends her emotions into a whirlwind?
1. Beginning of the End

"Lyla! Get yer ass up!" my best friend Autumn called, walking in the room.

I looked at the time; 7 am.

"Nope." I said, rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep.

The lil bitch laughed at me, then ripped my covers off.

"Fuck! Gimme the damn covers!" I growled, irritated.

Again she laughed. "Breakfast will be ready soon. Get dressed."

I uttered several more expletives and finally mustered enough energy to get dressed.

Without much thought, I grabbed a tank top that was lying around and some comfy jean shorts. I rummaged up some clean-ish socks that in no way matched, and put on my converses.

Once I finished my morning routine, I went to the kitchen. Autumn and her mom were sitting at the table eating already.

"Morning sleepy head." Barbara teased. I laughed and took my seat, plopping two pancakes onto my plate.

David, Autumn's dad walked in and asked how me and Autumn enjoyed our new piercings and tats we'd gotten for Autumn's birthday. She'd just turned 21 and to celebrate, Autumn got her belly button, septum, and cartilage pierced. Her parents also paid for me to get a nose piercing and a second cartilage piercing.

And since David was a good friend of K-No, the guy who owns the tat shop we went to, he gave us half off any tat we wanted.

Autumn got a 3d Cheshire cat on the back of her left shoulder, while I got a winged heart on my side, near my rib cage, with the words, "If I got rid of all my demons, I'd lose my angels" around it. It was beautiful and it hurt like a bitch, but I loved it.

We then heard the TV turn on. Austin was still in his pajamas and was flipping through the channels.

David stopped him on the news channel.

Again, the were showing the same reports they'd been showing for weeks.

_"We are urging the public to use caution when in an open and exposed area. At least 1,000 reported cases have happened in the Henry County area alone. Larger populated areas have reported at least 40 times that amount._

_The CDC wants to remind everyone that they are working on a cure, and as always, urge you to keep away from anyone bitten, or scratched. If at all possible, just stay home. We will have more on this story at 11 tonight."_

I stared at my food, getting that nervous pang in my stomach that I got every time the news ran this story.

"David, don't worry. Your brother will be fine." Barb assured her husband.

"You don't know that Barbara. Hell the government hasn't even come up with a cure yet!"

Autumn and I sat quiet. So did Austin.

"Just calm down, okay. We'll go this evening to visit him, after we drop Lyla off at her house."

David lit a cigarette and grabbed his car keys, leaving the house. "I'll be back later. I'm going to see him."

Barbara sighed, and I scrolled through my Facebook timeline on my Ipod. I'd suddenly lost my appetite.

* * *

It was about 3 pm and I texted my mom, asking when she wanted me home. Yes, I was almost 21 and still living with my mom and dad. Don't judge me. I was going to my local college and didn't have the money to get my own place yet.

Autumn however, was just lazy and didn't wanna leave her parents.

I received a reply from my mom, saying…"don't come home"?! What the fuck?!

"The fuck is she on about?" I mumbled.

"Huh? You okay, Ly?" Autumn asked, setting her phone down.

I growled internally and read the message. Just then I got another one.

"Baby I'm sorry but things are bad. Your dad and I are heading to Atlanta. Meet up with us there. Be safe. We love you."

I was so confused and decided to just call her.

Several rings later, she finally picked up. "Mom?"

"Lyla, baby are you safe?"

"Yeah mom, we're fine. We're not sick or anything."

"Good. Get Autumn and her family to take you to Atlanta. We'll meet up there at the refugee center."

"Why all of a sudden you freaking out? It's just like the flu. You weren't scared of the flu mom."

"The news lady…she told people to evacuate to Atlanta…just before she was…attacked."

The line went dead for a while.

"Mom!"

"Just get to Atlanta. Everyone in this part of the county's being evacuated there."

"Mom, stop just—."

"Just get there."

Then she hung up. I felt extremely worried.

"Lyla, the hell was your mom talking about?" Autumn asked.

"I—she—just pack your bags. I'll be back." I said, getting up to talk to Barbara.

* * *

It was pure chaos outside, closer to town. People were running around, harming each other, and traffic was a fucking bitch! But we had to go into town to get David. He was still at the hospital with his brother.

We neared the place and saw military vehicles surrounding it. Never in my life had military vehicles visited my tiny town of Martinsville.

Barbara and Autumn began freaking out big time. I just watched the scene outside.

Then suddenly, I swear I spotted David leaving the place through the emergency room area.

Barbara noticed as well. We attempted to get to him, but were cut off by like…insane people! They had cuts all over them…and they didn't speak. They just growled and scowled at us. I gripped Autumn's hand and let a few tears fall.

But then, the freaks lost interest in us. They turned and spotted David, as well as some military guys.

Barbara screamed at her husband to run, but it did no good. The freaks were on him in seconds and one actually bit him!

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, not being able to tear my eyes from the gruesome scene.

Autumn and Austin started crying, while Barbara began driving away.

* * *

The sight of all that blood coming out of David's body burned in my mind. It was like a hellish nightmare.

An emergency broadcast came on the radio, telling us where to go. Apparently there were buses that would take a majority of the population to Atlanta.

"I have to go home." I mumbled, feeling numb.

Barbara and her children looked at me like I was crazy.

"I have to! I have to see if my mom and dad have left yet! And I need to get my things; my clothes, my toothbrush, stuff like that."

Barbara finally relented and took me to my house.

* * *

The road I lived on was eerily quiet when we got there. I scrambled out of the car and ran to my house.

The gate to it had been left open, but my big dog Kala, a husky/wolf mix that I'd rescued when I was a teenager, was still in the yard.

"Kala! Come here girl!" I shouted to my dog. She quickly bounded to me, clearly happy to have me home.

"Come on girl, let's get our stuff, okay?" I continued talking to her.

Autumn hopped out of the car too to help me gather up everything.

The inside of the house looked horrifying. The place was trashed, and it smelled.

I started gagging and continued to my bedroom, which was downstairs.

Autumn followed, however Kala stayed upstairs, even though I knew she could come down on her own.

I opened my closet and grabbed a large duffle bag. I found some clothes that I wore the most and stuffed them in the bag, along with a blanket, my wallet, and even some pictures I'd tacked up on the walls.

Just before I left my room, I grabbed my Game of Thrones novels and my teddy bear, and threw them in my bag as well.

Autumn helped me carry every thing up the stairs and threw it all in the back of her mom's explorer with their things.

Kala jumped in with us, and soon we took off, heading to the outskirts of the city to (hopefully) get on a bus and get to Atlanta.

* * *

Twenty minutes passed and we made it to the "bus station". Really, It was just a shit ton of buses in the old Win-Dixie parking lot. People were going mental just trying to get a spot on a bus!

And that's where we killed the most time, just waiting to get on.

About 2 am, the crowd had thinned out enough that we could get on one of the last buses. We boarded and found some fairly comfortable seats. I was really happy they let me take my dog.

The bus pulled out of the parking lot, and left the madness that was my town, behind.

"Hay, you okay?" I asked Autumn, who was crying. I noticed she was listening to her Ipod.

She shook her head and went on about missing her dad. I felt bad for her, and gave her the best comforting hug I could.

"You'll get through this, okay? You're strong, and you can make it. When we get to Atlanta, you'll meet up with Billy and he'll be there for you, just like I am right now." I told her.

She nodded, hugging me back. I wish I could have done more to help her.

As we traveled, I glanced around at my fellow passengers. I didn't really notice anyone I knew in the front, but in the back, I spotted one of the few people I gave a damn about—my little cousin, Sena.

"Sena!" I shouted quietly. It got the nine year old's attention and she immediately ran to me.

I hugged the child, thankful she was safe and hadn't been bit or infected.

"Who brought you?" I asked her.

She pointed back to a kinda short looking guy in a dirty gray hoodie. That had to be Chris, Sena's mom's boyfriend.

"Chris brought me. Mom's in the hospital, but he said that she'll meet us there." The child told me.

I bit my lip to keep from saying anything bad, or upsetting. "Baby sit here. I'm going to talk with Chris okay?"

She nodded and took my seat as I went to speak to him.

Chris acknowledged me as I neared his seat.

"Chris, is Susan…"

Chris grunted and looked away. "Yeah. Last night. Doctor's said it was too late."

"So you just lied to Sena about it?!" I hissed.

"I didn't want to! She's just a kid, what do you expect me to say?!"

"The truth." I retorted.

"I couldn't do that, Lyla. She's just a kid. How d'ya think a 9 yr old would take that kinda news?" He asked me.

"Bout as well as me. By the time I was her age, two of my grandparents died and I handled it fucking well!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure you did. Got all your shit together don't ya?"

I gritted my teeth in anger. "Damn straight I do! Now stop dragging me into this. When we get to Atlanta, you're telling Sena about her mother; not me, not my friend, you."

He scoffed. "If we make there in one piece."

I flipped him off as I walked back to my seat. Autumn was asleep and Sena was on her Nintendo DS.

I turned my Ipod on, and slowly I fell asleep to the soothing sound of Austin Winkler's voice as he and his band Hinder sang "Far From Home".

* * *

**Time Lapse: 1 ½ months**

It'd been at least a month since I got on that bus. It'd been at least a month since I lost everything, well almost everything.

I glanced at my three exhausted companions. Autumn looked around, weary of those…things. Austin was behind her, ready to kill anything that snuck up on us.

Kala was on high alert as well.

"We should get off this road. A crowd of them fuckers could come through here; catch us off guard." Autumn advised.

"Sounds good. Let's find a place to stop and regroup; look at our map; figure out where to go from there." I told her.

To be honest, I had no idea what the terrain of Georgia was, and I didn't know what we'd do if we found other survivors...or another horde of those...monsters.

Since Atlanta fell we'd been on the road for a little over a month, staying the hell away from the city. It was pure luck we'd gotten out of there at all. Things got bad. People turned and they ended up bombing parts of the city before everything went to hell.

Of course, we didn't get away unscathed. Autumn and Austin's mom paid the price that allowed us to get away from the city. The dead were too busy eating her to even notice us.

I'd lost track of Sena and Chris when everyone started trying to leave. I only hoped they were still alive and had made it out like we did.

"We need to head to the CDC." I told our small group, scowling at our map.

"D'ya think it'd be overrun?" Austin asked.

"Dunno, but it's worth a try." I told him.

"If it is, we'll just keep moving, right?" Autumn said, backing me up.

I nodded. "So we'll just follow the highway a little farther, then take the exit 89. From there it's just a bunch of little streets to get to it."

"Do you really wanna risk going into the city? We don't even have any proof it's still up and running." Austin said.

I frowned. He had a point.

"I know that, but it's a chance we have to take. We've got weapons, a small amount of food, and wits. We're tired, but just think, if the CDC's up and running, we'll have refuge and maybe others will have the same idea. Isn't that what we want?" I asked.

They seemed to agree that this was the right choice.

"Alright. We'll head out early tomorrow." I told them.

Autumn looked around. "Looks like we'll be sleeping in the trees again."

I grumbled. I hated sleeping in trees!

* * *

It took us the better part of two days to get to the CDC, and even then, it was almost dark by the time we got there.

"Ly, I'm not liking this." Autumn whispered, seeing all the dead bodies.

I bit my lip and felt the smooth lip ring clink against my teeth. I didn't like this sight either.

We got close to the door and tried to open it.

"It's not opening!" Austin exclaimed.

"No shit, Sherlock!" I retorted in anger and fear.

I looked around and saw more of those things rising up, ready to kill us. Kala was barking, going mental.

She circled around and jumped on one who was getting too close to us. Thanks to her being almost all wolf, biting through to the brainstem was a piece of cake.

Kala 1, zombie freak 0.

But that didn't help much since we had about twenty of those fuckers rising up and after us.

Austin beat on the door and Autumn screamed while she shot off her gun.

I called Kala to my side and shot some of those dead freaks. But the thought crossed my mind—maybe I should end it all.

"Lyla we gotta go! It's too dangerous here!" Autumn cried, still shooting.

I grumbled and shouted for her to cover me. I was gonna get us out of here; not sure how, but I would do my damndest to make sure my best friend and her little brother were safe.

Just as I started for one of the vehicles, attempting to see if it was in working condition, the door to the place flew open. Bright, blinding light shone through the darkness. It was welcomed light.

* * *

We ran into the building, not caring what was waiting for us. We knew what was out here and we'd rather take our chances with whatever was inside before fighting our way out of the city tonight.

As our eyes adjusted to the light, we saw several people standing around, holding guns (and one guy had a badass crossbow).

"You government people like shoving guns in people's faces, or is this a special occasion?" I asked sarcastically.

The dude with the crossbow scoffed and lowered his weapon. Some pale guy with nasty yellow/blonde hair just looked at us.

"Any of you bit?"

I looked around at us. "Nah, we're whole."

"What about that dog? She whole too?"

I nodded. "Kala won't be a problem."

"You guys mind getting those guns out of our faces? We're not going to kill you or nothing." Autumn asked.

"You can never be too careful." Mr. Blondie said, lowering his gun.

"Look, it's bad out there and we need a place to stay—ahh." I groaned out as my head started pounding and I felt the world spinning.

Before I could fall to the ground and bust my head open, Autumn caught me and supported my weight.

"You sure she isn't bit?" I heard someone ask angrily.

"No, none of us are! We haven't slept good or eaten properly in days. She's exhausted. We all are."

I started regaining my vision and the world steadied itself.

"I can walk. I can walk. I'm good." I told my friend. She released her grip on me and I was able to stay upright.

"You'll submit to a blood test. If you do that, you can stay." The guy told us.

"We can do that." Austin spoke up.

* * *

Blondie lead us away to a medical area where he'd take our blood.

I went first and again almost passed out.

"I'm anemic." I mentioned between labored breaths.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You should have told me and I wouldn't have taken as much blood." He told me.

I attempted to stand up and looked at him. "Didn't want you to think I was weak."

I sat down while Autumn and Austin had their blood taken. Apparently that gave Mr. Sheriff the opportunity to talk to me.

"You're looking a little rough. Here's some water if you want it." He offered.

I took it and drank greedily. Never had water tasted so good.

The guy looked at my dog.

"May I?" He asked, wanting to pet her.

I nodded and watched as she warmed up to him.

"Her name's Kala. I'm Lyla. The girl I'm with, her name's Autumn. Austin's her brother." I informed him.

"I'm Rick."

"You some sorta cop here, Rick?" I asked, eyeing his uniform.

He actually smiled a little. "No, not any more. I was though. Lived up the road a ways till all this happened."

"You got a descent sized group. Ya'll leave the city together or did you relocate here when everybody was evacuating to the refugee centers?"

"I found them." He told me. "I woke up from a coma back where we lived. A guy and his son rescued me from a walker and—."

"A walker?" I asked, cutting him off.

"One of those things that your dog killed out there." He informed.

"You saw us?"

"Jenner did." He told me, pointing to the man taking Austin's blood. "Just like he did with our group."

I took a good look at everyone in his group. From what I saw, he had two black people (a woman and a guy); an old guy, an Asian, some buff guy with the crossbow; another really built guy with army pants and tightly curled dark hair, a couple kids and some white girls. I think one of them was holding onto a kid too. They all looked like they'd been through hell.

"Pretty diverse group." I commented.

"We're about ready to eat dinner. If you want, you and your friends can join us, meet the rest of the group." He offered.

I thought about it. My stomach growled hungrily.

"Sure. We'll be there."

* * *

"Lyla, I don't trust these people." Autumn whispered.

I acknowledged her comment.

"I don't either, but so far they're doing right by us." They hadn't tried killing us, or forcing us away.

"We should leave."

"And go where?" I asked harshly.

She stuttered.

"We stay put for now. As soon as things seem off, we'll high tail it out of here, but not right now." I told her. In truth, I was really looking forward to eating a real meal tonight.

I watched everyone sit down. The lighting let me get a good look at their faces. I saw the children get served their food by the parents. But one kid stood out from everyone. I recognized her. But...No, I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it!

"Sena?" I wondered aloud. Everyone turned to me and the kid stared me in the eyes.

Tears threatened to fall. "Sena? Sena, it's me." I told her.

Before I could say more, the child got up from the table and ran to my arms. I couldn't help but hug the child tight. I had found my little cousin.

"Lyla! I thought you were dead." She admitted.

"No, no baby," I mumbled, sniffling away the tears. "I made it out. I thought you were dead too."

"Wait, so you know this kid?" The old guy asked me.

"How?" The woman with long brunette hair questioned.

"She's my little cousin. I got separated from her in Atlanta." I told them.

"You guys were in Atlanta?" The Asian asked, shocked.

"Of course we were." Autumn informed them.

Sena took me to an empty seat at the table and we started eating. I glanced at Autumn and she smiled. We were safe, at least for right now.

"So short stuff, you gonna tell us your story or what?" A pretty blonde woman asked.

"Andrea, not now." Rick told her.

"No, it's okay, really." I told him. "Autumn, Austin, Sena, and I are…were from Virginia, a small town there. I was staying with Autumn when shit hit the fan. The town rallied some buses to take everyone to Atlanta, to the refugee center…but it got overrun. I'm not sure how, or what exactly happened but it did. I lost Sena in the crowds. We made it out, mostly cuz the dead were feasting on everyone they'd taken."

"My mom…" Autumn mumbled.

"And dad." Austin finished.

I looked to my friends sympathetically.

"We figured the CDC was the best choice. If any government or order was left, it'd be here. Guess we were right." I finished, sipping on some wine.

The guy Rick called Shane started asking Jenner questions about what happened. Apparently almost everyone killed themselves, and he "just kept working".

"Dude, you're such a buzzkill." The Asian guy Glenn muttered.

* * *

"If you shower, go easy on the hot water." Jenner told us as he led us to where we'd be staying.

Glenn and T-Dog's faces lit up in happiness. Mine did too.

"Are you shitting me? A hot shower?!" Autumn freaked.

I smiled like a kid. "Damn right! I call dibs!" I yelled running towards the showers.

Sena ran and caught up to me at the shower stalls. Apparently it was split up into two sections—women and men.

Everyone in Rick's group caught up to us, and soon most of the stalls were full.

"Hay, Austin how many stalls left in there?" I asked as my friend's brother walked out, hair soaking wet.

"A lot. Why, there not enough stalls left in the girls shower?" He asked.

"Nope. There's eight stalls but the only one available is out of order." I told him

He chuckled. "There's two open ones in there."

I grabbed up my things and thanked him before walking into the men's shower.

**Hi guys! :D Soooo yeah this is my new TWD fanfic :O I really hope you take the time to read and review it, and also check out my other TWD fanfics entitled "I Walked Through Fire And Didn't Get Burned" & "When It's Darkest Men See Stars". It'd mean the world to me if you checked them out and reviewed them as well :) **


	2. Never Give Up

I undressed and stepped into the shower. The warm water felt oddly foreign to me. I hadn't had a proper warm shower since before I left Virginia.

I used the soap they had made available and scrubbed away the dirt and grime on my body.

I saw the dirty water swirl down the drain, taking with it the horrid memories of this world.

I then glanced at my thighs. I could see several scars on each side. One read "fat", and another read "ugly".

Biting my lip, I placed my hand over the scars. I regretted doing it, for taking everything I had for granted. I'd do almost anything to get it all back, well almost all of it.

* * *

The water began cooling, so I finished washing my body, hair, and face.

Once I was done, I shut the water off and wrapped a towel around me. I didn't hear anyone else in the stalls so I secured the towel, making sure it covered everything, and ran for my room.

In my haste, I didn't pay attention to the person walking out of their room, and I bumped straight into them.

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" I told the person sincerely, beginning to pick up the stuff I'd dropped. Thank goodness the accident didn't make me lose my towel.

The man bent down and gave me a shirt. "You should watch where you're going."

I blushed, trying not to look him in the eye. "Sorry. Hay, you're the dude with the crossbow, right? You're name's Daryl."

He nodded, looking away.

"Well, I'm Lyla. Guess I'll be seeing ya." I told him, taking off to my room.

* * *

"Don't tell me you ran all the way from the stalls in just a towel." Autumn commented.

"Damn right I did." I told her, brushing my hair.

"Someone could have seen you. Who knows what they woulda done."

I rolled my eyes. "You done being a drama queen? Nothing happened."

"You sure?"

"Well, I did bump into Daryl, the dude with the crossbow. But nothing happened. He helped me pick my clothes up and that was it." I told her.

"I still say we should leave. I mean Jenner's not a government agent or anything like that. He's just a survivor like us." Autumn said, stating her opinion.

"I don't wanna leave. We had a good meal, and these people aren't bad. Maybe we can team up."

"They don't belong to our group. Their just people we met. We don't know them at all."

I looked at my best friend.

"Look at you Lyla. You're wasting away to nothing. If they see that, they'll try to take us with them, or take us out. That Jenner guy isn't right in the head, and we don't know a thing about Rick or the rest of them."

"Exactly, but if we're here, we can get good meals, proper sleep, and health care. I know your asthma is acting up. Maybe Jenner can help with that. But you can leave if you want. I'm staying. Sena says these people have been good to her, and I believe that. I believe their good people."

She just rolled her eyes and sipped on a bottle of wine the good doc had given her.

"Hay, ya got anything stronger?" I asked, smiling.

She laughed. "Nah, that redneck took most of the strong stuff."

"Ugh man, I wanna get shitfaced." I told her.

I then decided to go find Daryl and get some strong shit to drink.

* * *

As I walked down the hall, I heard the kids talking quietly with the short haired woman Carol…I didn't like remembering her name since my mom's name was Carol…

I found Daryl's room and knocked…and knocked…and knocked…and knocked again.

Finally he answered. He scowled at me with the door half open.

"What ya want? I'm fuckin' busy here." He slurred, half drunk. I noticed he was shirtless and in his boxers. I would be lying if I said he didn't look good.

"How much you got left?" I asked, talking about the drink.

"Another bottle or two in the, the room." He mumbled.

I darted past him and found a whole bottle of Jack sitting on the floor near his bed. I grabbed it up and scurried back out of his room. He started yelling, but he was too drunk to try and follow me.

"You'll thank me tomorrow." I said cheekily.

I heard his door shut and I popped open the bottle of whiskey, taking a good swig of it.

But the whiskey was soon forgotten when I saw someone sitting on the ground in the hallway.

"Hay, hay buddy you alright?" I asked, not quite sure who was sitting here.

The guy looked up and it was Shane. He had nice long gashes on his neck.

Immediately I dropped to my knees and checked them.

"Oh my gosh. Shane, right? What happened?" I asked. My hands started acquiring quite a bit of Shane's blood. I couldn't help it. I was a real sucker for helping people.

He looked at me, his eyes clouded from drinking, and mumbled.

"Shane, speak up. I couldn't understand you." I told him.

He mumbled some more then took another sip of alcohol.

"Alright, I think that's enough for you, Shane. Let's get you to your room." I said, taking the bottle away from him.

I struggled to get him to his feet since he probably weighed three times as much as me, but I managed to drag his drunken ass to his room. He plopped down on the bed and I shut the door.

* * *

When I finally made it back to my room, I was starting to stumble. Idly, I realized I'd drank half the bottle of whiskey. Oops.

Autumn just laughed when I walked in.

"Shhhuttt up you bitchhhhh." I slurred really bad.

That caused her to laugh even more.

"Are you drunk, Lyla?" My little cousin Sena asked.

"I—I—I'm fucking drunk as shit." I said, stumbling to my bed.

"What took you so long to get back?" Autumn questioned.

"That asshole Daryl took most of the boooozeee from everyone so I hadda take it back. Did—did you know he's really hottt under those clothes?"

I then proceeded to pour some of my booze into Kala's water dish. She lapped it up greedily.

Both girls laughed at the sight, and after that, I don't remember anything. Guess I just passed out.

* * *

The next morning, someone kept tugging on my arm. I opened my eyes and realized it was Sena. I relaxed and closed my eyes again.

"Five more minutes, sweetie."

"Come on Lyla. Autumn said you had to get up. We're going to breakfast." The kid told me in almost a demanding voice.

I sighed and started removing the covers. "A'ight, a'ight I'm up. I'm up."

And then the wave of nausea and a headache the size of freaking Texas hit me. I fumbled my way to the bathroom and emptied the contents of my stomach.

I groaned out and attempted to figure out why I felt this awful.

Then I remembered drinking a whole damn bottle of Jack and passing out here. That's why my head was hurting.

"Hay Autumn" I said raspily, still upchucking what was left of last night's meal. "You got any Ibuprofen?"

I heard her search her bag for the medicine. As quick as she could, she gave me two tablets. I dry-swallowed them and finally stopped puking.

"Are you hungover over?" Sena asked, peeking her head into the bathroom.

I held my head and attempted to stand. "You, my dear, are correct."

I finally made it to the bed and started rummaging through my clothes. I found a nice flannel shirt and some capris.

I noticed Kala wasn't by my side, which was unusual.

"Kala?" I called out softly.

I didn't see her so I started looking; starting at the end of the bed where I last remember her being.

And sure enough, the bitch was still sleeping; upside down with her tongue hanging out. I chuckled at the sight of my dog and started rubbing her awake.

"Was somebody a drunk puppy, huh?" I teased my dog.

She just licked my face, her breath smelling heavily of Jack.

Once she was up, I laced up my converses and put on my poker face. I felt like absolute shit, but as the old saying goes, "wake up, get up, dress up, show up, never give up". Yep, that's pretty much been my motto since this thing started.

"You coming?" Autumn called.

"I'll be there!" I called back.

* * *

We met Austin on the way to breakfast. Turns out he roomed with T-Dog last night.

"He's an alright guy, from what I can tell." He informed us.

I nodded as we made our way to the dining room. Not many people were in there.

T was cooking for everyone. Lori, Carl, Dale, Sophia, Carol, and Andrea were sitting around the table.

We found empty spots at the table, and just listened to the conversations.

Glenn then made an appearance. He groaned and looked like he'd be sick.

"Rough night there, buddy?" I asked, teasing him a little.

"Screw you." He muttered, leaning his head over his arms.

"Fuck you too." I said, still joking.

"Lyla, right?" Lori asked me.

I nodded, slightly confused. "Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you?"

I nodded and she led me off to a corner.

"What's up?"

"Please don't use that language around my son, or Carol's daughter. I don't know what kind of home you grew up in or what you're trying to give your cousin but—."

"No you don't know how I grew up, and you sure as hell cannot tell me how to bring up my cousin. That is my job, and my job alone. And those kids have a lot more to worry about than a few cuss words in this world. It's best they learn early." I told her harshly, cutting her off. I didn't know what got into me, but I snapped.

She just looked at me before finally speaking. "And like you said, raising your cousin is your responsibility, but raising my son is mine. If you're gonna be with us, then you really should think about what I said."

I rolled my eyes and walked away, a bit angry.

"You don't know nothing." I muttered.

* * *

Lori and I went back to the table like nothing had happened. Rick then came out, looking as bad as I felt.

He got Lori to open a bottle of Aspirin and Carl asked him if he was hungover.

It was a similar conversation to the one I had with Sena earlier.

T-Dog announced the eggs he'd been cooking were done and he served them to us. My belly growled, reminding me I had no food in my system.

I dug into my breakfast, savoring every bite. Slowly I could feel my hangover leaving me. And I noticed poor Glenn was feeling better too. He'd drank quite a bit last night.

Shane appeared, fixing himself a cup of coffee. He didn't say much, or even thank me for helping him last night. I didn't expect he would since he was piss drunk. He probably didn't even remember.

But something bothered me. How on earth did he get those scratches? There weren't any animals here, aside from Kala and she passed out in my room from drinking that bit of whiskey.

"Must've done it in my sleep man." He told his friend.

I kept my mouth shut, but I knew he was lying. He had those before he went to bed.

Jenner walked in and Dale and Andrea both started in on the guy, asking loads of questions.

His answers were so vague though. I felt like he was lying to us.

"When you're finished, meet me in the main room. I have something I want to show you." He said mysteriously before walking away.

* * *

After breakfast, everyone met Jenner in the big room. Sena was holding my hand.

"I'm happy you came here. We found each other." She said, smiling.

I smiled too and wrapped an arm around her. "And I promise you nothing's gonna happen to you as long as I've got a say in it."

She rested her head against my side, comforted by my words. "I don't want you to leave again."

"I won't baby. I promise; and neither will Kala." I told her.

She stroked the dog's fur lovingly.

Just then Jenner talked to the computer thing named Vi. He had her, it, whatever it was bring up a thing called "TS-19".

It was a death vigil of someone who'd been bitten.

Apparently this…walker virus attacked the brain like Meningitis, but Jenner had no clue how to cure it or how this epidemic happened.

"This person died?" Andrea asked, highly interested.

He ignored her question and continued with the playback.

It was all very sobering.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Little Sophia asked.

"Yes." Carol told her.

Jenner went on about the resurrection times, then out of nowhere, a flash passed across the screen.

"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea said, knowing what happened.

I listened to the whole conversation, growing more and more fearful. The world had really gone to hell.

"Man, I wanna get shitfaced drunk, again." Daryl said, rubbing his head.

"Tell me about it." I mumbled.

Dale then brought up the clock that was counting down. Jenner clammed up and only told us that the generators would power down by then…but the way he said it, and the way he walked away made me fearful that he was hiding something.

* * *

The men went to the basement and started searching for an answer I guess. All the guys went except for Daryl and Dale. They stayed upstairs with everyone. I had a feeling Daryl was drinking, keeping true to what he'd said in the big room.

"Lyla, Autumn what are you guys doing?" Sena asked us.

"We're packing." Autumn told her.

"And you should be doing the same thing." I added.

"Why?" The kid questioned.

"Because something doesn't seem right here. I dunno it could be nothing, but remember what I told you when this thing started." I told her.

"Expect the best, prepare for the worst." She recited.

I smiled. "Get packing okay?"

"Okay." She said.

Her and Kala went to the other side of the room to grab her few possessions.

"Hay Autumn, are you getting really hot?" I asked, wiping a bit of sweat off my brow.

She nodded, looking weak. "It's suffocating."

Sena then bound over to me. "Lyla, the air stopped working."

I went to the vent and sure enough it wasn't blowing at all.

"Dammit! Ya think the generators already gave out?" I asked out loud.

Just then the light on the table went out.

"Shit. This isn't good." Autumn commented.

Just then we heard people talking outside the rooms. We peaked our heads out and Jenner was casually strolling down the hall like he was going to church.

"What's going on?" Daryl asked him. "Why is everything being turned off?"

"Energy is being prioritized." Jenner said, taking the bottle of liquor from him.

We ran out of our rooms and followed Jenner to the big room.

Daryl made some big fuss, then the rest of the guys showed up.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running till the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark." Jenner told us. "Right on schedule."

Daryl took his booze back and Jenner looked to Andrea.

"It was the French." He told her.

"What?"

Apparently they were the last ones to hold out and attempt to figure out what was happening. But like this place, they failed. That knowledge sank into my stomach, making my blood boil. There had to be SOMETHING out there that could give us the right answers.

But then it hit me…this place…somewhere in it, there were nasty diseases and other harmful viruses, kept from the public. If terrorists wanted to hurt the US they'd do it by destroying the CDC and making sure all those harmful pathogens got out into the public. There you go, bio terrorism. But the government would have thought of that, and would have taken measures to make sure nothing harmful got out of this place…that could only mean that whatever happened when the clock ran out, was bad; very bad.

"Austin, are you packed?" I asked him in a hurry.

He nodded.

"Autumn, you think you're up to coming with me and Sena to the rooms to get our stuff? We need to be ready to get out of here ASAP. Something bad's gonna happen." I told my best friend.

She nodded and we whispered to Austin what we were gonna do.

He was okay with it and we started for the door. Kala went with us

"Sena slow down!" I yelled. She stopped just on the other side of the door, waiting for us to catch up with her.

Just before Autumn and I got to the door, some alarm went off. Vi announced that decontamination was happening in thirty minutes, and the last thing I saw before the door went up was Sena's horrified face. I heard Kala bark fiercely. They were trapped on the other side while I was in the other room.

"No!" I screamed, freaking out. "Open this door! Open it!" I began beating on the door but it wouldn't budge.

"Lyla!" someone yelled. It sounded like Sena.

"Sena! Baby stay with me, okay! Are you guys alright?"

"I'm scared." She said just loud enough for me to hear.

Jenner started screaming, but Vi silenced him.

"HITS: high-impulse thermobaric fuel air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blas wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired." She told everyone.

Tears came to my eyes and I screamed till my lungs burned. I was angry! I was fucking furious! I would NOT die here! And neither would my friends or cousin!

"EDWIN JENNER YOU SON OF A BITCH YOU OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR RIGHT FUCKING NOW BEFORE I RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND FEED YOU TO THE WALKERS!" I yelled, knowing full well my words meant nothing to him.

Most of Rick's group looked at me like I went psycho. Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. The point was that this man who'd given up, wasn't going to dictate how me and my family would die.

I charged forward, murder in my eyes if this prick didn't open the door and let us leave.

As I ran to Jenner, I heard glass shatter and an angry voice yell.

"Open this damn door!" Daryl screamed.

Just then Shane screamed too. "Out of my way!"

He had an axe. T-Dog threw the other axe to Daryl.

I changed my course and ran to the door.

"Sena! Baby it's okay! We're just hitting the door trying to open it!" I yelled over the noise.

"Don't leave me Lyla!" I heard her small response.

"I'm not going anywhere!" I assured her. "You're gonna be okay. You've got Kala. We're getting out of here."

"If you don't want your head cut off, then I suggest you get out of the way!" Daryl yelled to me.

"I'm not fucking going anywhere! Now keep hitting the door!" I yelled back, not intimidated.

I heard my baby girl crying on the other side of the door.

"Hay, hay, no crying." I told her. "We're going to get out of here! Just hold onto Kala and wait for us, okay?"

Daryl gave up on the doors and charged towards Jenner with the axe. He clearly wasn't afraid to kill the man.

But I couldn't let Daryl do that. As much as I wanted to do the same thing to Jenner, we couldn't let anything happen to him. Without him, we'd never get out of here.

I took off running. Most of the men were trying to restrain Daryl, but were failing. The redneck was slowly inching his way to the doctor.

I put myself in between Daryl and Jenner.

"You best get out of the way girl!" Daryl yelled at me.

"Shut the fuck up you lunatic! If you kill him, we'll be locked in here for sure!" I yelled back.

Daryl walked away and I stared at Jenner.

"You're welcome." I told him sullenly.

He nodded to me, then went on about how dying here was the best choice.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event." He said almost happily.

"No, you listen here you piece of shit!" I exclaimed, getting his attention. "My 9 year old little cousin is out there, alone; and so is my dog. If you don't let us out, you're basically murdering that little girl and everyone else in this room who doesn't want to die! Do you really want that on your conscience?" I asked, walking away, back to the door. If we were gonna die here, I was gonna die as close to my cousin as possible.

* * *

"How you holding up kid?" I asked, stifling the tears. I could hear Carol pleading with the man to let us go.

"When are they gonna open the door?"

"Soon okay? Just hang tight. We'll be out of here in no time." I lied, trying to stay strong.

Just then Shane started a riot, shooting off a gun near the doctor's head.

"Fucking hell!" I mumbled.

"What was that?! Lyla what's happened?!" I heard Sena cry.

"It's okay we're okay, baby. They just shot a gun. No one's hurt." I informed her.

Kala barked twice. "I know Kala, I know. We're getting you guys out of here." I muttered, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Hand me that axe." I heard a rough voice ask.

I looked up and it was Daryl. Quickly I handed it to him.

He started beating on the door.

"Hay kid! Make sure you and that dog are out of the way when we get this door open!" Daryl yelled to Sena.

I guess she heard him, but she didn't answer.

And as if by a miracle, Dr. Jenner opened the door.

"Come on!" Daryl yelled to everyone.

He grabbed my arm and got me up. I grabbed Sena and hugged her before taking off to our room to get our things.

Autumn caught up with us there.

"Come on! We gotta go!" I said, leading us out of the room.

* * *

It was a long run to the front of the building. Already I was thinking of ways to get out of here.

"Get them doors open!" Glenn yelled.

Jenner said the doors would be locked, but he never said anything about the windows.

"Try the windows!" I screamed, holding Sena's hand.

Daryl and Shane both went at a window with the same axes they'd used earlier.

I bit my lip. Only three minutes left.

The axes weren't doing anything so T-Dog charged the window with a chair. It did nothing but bounce right off it.

Shane thought to shoot the damned thing, and it STILL wouldn't break.

"The glass won't break?" Little Sophia asked. She looked like she was ready to cry.

"Don't worry sweetie, we'll all make it out of here alive." I promised her. I don't know why, but I did.

Carol then left her daughter's side and spoke to Rick. She handed him a…a grenade!

"Shit! Sophia! Sena!" I yelled, taking them behind a pillar.

The grenade went off and the window shattered. I pulled the girls to their feet and made sure everyone was whole.

"Let's go!" I heard someone yell.

* * *

I grabbed Sena's hand, unsure of where to go. I didn't belong with this group, but we had nowhere else to go.

I saw Rick, Daryl, and Shane clear a path for their group.

"Lyla! Come on!" Autumn yelled. You could tell even she was unsure of where to go.

"Ya'll! This way!" I heard someone scream. I looked towards a beat up old Chevy pickup.

Daryl was standing there, yelling for us to run to him.

Sena instantly took off towards the truck and reached it before the rest of us did.

Daryl grabbed her up and put her in the bed and lowered the tailgate for us before climbing into the driver's seat.

Austin climbed into the bed and he raised the tailgate up.

Daryl poked his head out the window and yelled for us to get down.

I covered Sena's body, fearful that one of my group might die.

And in a flash, a large explosion occurred. I swear I went deaf from it.

"Lyla! Look!" Autumn told me once the initial explosion occurred.

I looked to the building, or what was a building, and suddenly felt overwhelmed. Where would we go? There was no hope for us, no government, no civilization, so where could we go?

I looked through the back window of the truck and saw Daryl looking at us. I nodded, signaling we were okay.

I couldn't believe he'd saved us.

I took notice of Sena crying beside me.

"Shh baby, it's okay." I told the girl, holding her and Kala close. The dog licked Sena's face affectionately and I held them tight.

Daryl started the truck up and started following the rest of his group.


	3. They Won't Be For Long

We didn't get far before nightfall. The group stopped at some big brick building. At one time, I imagine it was beautiful.

The convoy stopped and Austin popped the tailgate. We all got out and looked around.

"The hell is this place?" I asked.

"Old folks home. At least it was." Daryl told me.

We walked around to the "entrance" of the place and Rick looked upset about something.

"You said people lived here." Autumn commented.

"Guess they got overrun." Glenn responded, looking at a bunch of walkers feasting on the dead.

"Who?" I asked.

"You knew people here?" Autumn chimed in.

"A group called the Vatos had this place secure. They took care of the old people that lived here." Glenn informed us.

Rick then got his men to shoot up the place and we ran inside the building.

* * *

Once inside, Sophia got freaked out by the sight of some dead guy sprawled out on the floor. She started and Sena hugged her little friend, crying with her.

"Shut them the hell up or I will!" Daryl snapped.

Lori and I both went off on him. He was being a major dickhead and we didn't need that at the moment.

Carol held her daughter close as I held Sena close to me.

"Baby, you gotta keep quiet. There are walkers here. They could hear you. You gotta be strong." I whispered.

Through her tears, Sena nodded and took Sophia's hand as Rick silently led us through the corridors and managed to hole us up in some cafeteria.

It seemed safe enough for the moment.

That was, until Daryl brought up a valid point. This place hadn't gotten overrun. It'd been taken.

Some bandits, looters, whatever you wanna call them, came in and shot up everyone in this place. Guess the walkers came afterwards.

"I'd be much more worried about the people that came in and did all this." The redneck told us, giving Andrea hateful looks.

* * *

I laid on my sleeping bag, suffocating from the heat of being packed in one room with 15 other people. I noticed Rick was still on watch. Was he gonna keep watch all night?

Quietly, I got up and went to talk to the ex cop. He'd saved my hide, as well as Autumn and Austin's. Not to mention, his group took care of Sena.

"Rick." I called out as I approached our leader who was on watch.

"Lyla, everything alright?" He asked.

I nodded, crossing my arms. "Yeah. Hungry and tired, but we're in one piece, thanks to you—and the group."

"No need to thank me. Tomorrow we're heading for Fort Benning. Shane and the rest think it's the best place to go."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about Rick. You—you don't have to take me and my group—family in. If you want us gone, just tell us and we'll go. You've been so kind to us and—."

"No, Lyla, I can't just turn you and your group away. We all need to pull together now. Sides, we took care of your cousin. She looks up to Carl like a brother."

Thoughts of the world before the end of it filled my mind. Sena's mom had been pregnant. She could have been carrying a little boy; a baby brother for Sena.

"I'll never be able to thank you guys enough for that." I said truthfully.

"If you want to thank anyone, thank Daryl. He's the one that found her; him and his brother Merle." Rick said quietly.

"I didn't know he had a brother." I told him.

"Yeah, he did. Got left behind on a supply run. Tried to kill me and T-Dog. I handcuffed him to a pipe and gave T-Dog the key. He dropped it in a drain while we were getting out of Atlanta."

"But he's still a human. You didn't go after him?"

"We did." Rick said gravely, remembering memories he'd rather forget. "By the time we got to where we'd left him, he'd cut his hand off and left. Still don't know where he went, or even if he's alive."

"But Daryl's still with you. Guess they weren't very close brothers."

"In truth, I don't think they were." Rick admitted.

I looked back at the group, focusing on my little cousin. She was clutching my stuffed teddy bear and was sleeping almost peacefully.

"Get some rest, Lyla. We got a long journey ahead of us."

* * *

Autumn and I were up at the crack of dawn the next day. We didn't sleep good at all.

"Hay, you cool with going with these guys?" I asked as we shared a smoke.

She nodded, taking a puff. "Yeah I am. I think I was wrong about them. They seem like good people."

She handed the fag back to me and I took a nice long drag. It tasted good, well as good as a Camel Crush usually tasted. It brought back a lot of memories. My dad used to smoke Camels and when I was fifteen I smoked one for the first time.

"Hay, bitch, don't be smoking all of it." Autumn teased.

I flipped her off and handed the rest of the cigarette to her.

I then turned to where Sena was sleeping. "Sena, come on, get up. We gotta go."

She rolled her sleepy form over to look at me. "Are we leaving?"

"Yeah baby, we are."

"What about the group? I don't wanna leave Carl and Sophia. They're my friends."

"No, we're not leaving them. We're going with them." I told her.

She finally got up and I handed her a semi clean pair of clothes.

"Go to the pantry and get dressed. I'll try to get you something to eat." I told her.

She left and I searched my bag, hoping to find something worth giving the child.

* * *

It wasn't long before everyone else was awake and ready to fuck outta this creepy place.

And thanks to Rick, we got out in one piece and we reconvened at a truck stop not two miles down the road.

We looted the place over, siphoning gas, stealing food, and anything else that'd be useful to us.

"Lyla!" Sena called out.

I looked and Sena was running towards me with a hat in her hands.

"Can I have it?" She asked.

"Sure, but why?" I asked. It was just a Greenbay Packers hat.

Then I figured it out.

"They were mom's favorite team." She muttered.

I got down on her level and looked at her. "Then you keep it. That way she'll always be with you."

The kid put the cap on and ran off to find Sophia and Carl.

I went behind the counters to where they kept the cigarettes, scanning it for my Camels. Daryl joined me.

"Didn't take ya for a smoker." He said as he looked over the different brands.

"And I didn't take you for a social person." I retorted.

He scoffed and I found my smokes.

"Nasty pieces of shit." He commented.

"Better than the shit you're smoking." I told him. I mean who smokes Virginia Slims?

"Sure." He stated, rolling his eyes.

I took a cig out of the fresh pack and looked around for a lighter.

Daryl turned around and held his out to me.

As soon as I lit up, I inhaled the wonderful yet toxic chemicals.

"Thanks." I told him, handing his lighter back.

He did the same with his cig and together we just kinda stood there smoking. It was awkward I'll admit, but hay, there were worse situations I could be in.

"So what's your story?" I asked.

Everyone has a story about why they smoke what they smoke.

"Figured we'll be going on quite a few smoke runs while we're on the road. Might as well get to know each other." I added.

He looked at me like I grew three heads. "Ain't got no story girl. Even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you."

I rolled my eyes and continued smoking. "Fine. Just trying to be civil, Mr. Caveman."

He glared and we went back to smoking in silence.

After a while, Mr. Social Butterfly started talking. "My mom, she used to smoke Virginia Slims. Dad wouldn't touch the shit; said they stunk up the house."

I gave him a rue smile while watching Sena play with the two other children in our group.

"Your turn." He then said.

I looked at him.

"Your cig. You gotta have a damn good reason to be smoking that stuff."

I bit my lip, flipping off the excess ash from the tip of the cig.

"My dad smoked unfiltered Camels since he was a kid. I couldn't stand the smell of them so my cousin got me to try Camel Crushes. Been smoking them since I was fifteen." I opened up.

Just then Rick signaled for everyone to gather around the cars. Sena, Autumn, and Austin joined me next to the RV.

Rick went on about how the trip was going to go down. We downsized our vehicles, and siphoned more gas for the road.

Autumn, Austin, Sena, and I were all thrown in the RV with Glenn, Andrea, Shane, and Dale.

Fun, fun.

* * *

It didn't take long for the RV to become an oven. I was sweating pools and so was everyone else.

"Too damn packed in here." I muttered to no one.

Autumn and Sena had fallen asleep in the back area where the bed was, and Shane, Austin, and Andrea were working on a gun.

I walked up to where Glenn and Dale were. They were going over the map.

I noticed the highway.

"You won't get in or out of the city. Not on the main road." I told them.

"But it's the best way to get to Fort Benning." The Asian told me.

"The road's backed up a few miles in and out of the city. At least it was a few days ago. There's no way in hell you'll be able to get all these vehicles through; maybe Daryl's bike, but not the cars and the RV."

Just then Dale rolled his window down. Daryl pulled up on his bike.

"You see a way through?" The old man asked.

Daryl just shook his head.

"We'll double back to that bypass I saw—." Glenn started.

"We can't spare the fuel." Dale interrupted.

I sighed and walked back to where Shane and the others were. I heard an awful sound that could wake the dead—the RV screamed out and spat smoke.

"The fuck?!" I questioned, running back to the front.

Dale cursed as he turned the vehicle off and we all got out.

"The fuck's going on?" I asked.

The old guy then made some comment to Rick about a radiator hose. I looked around.

"This place's a gold mine." I told everyone, going to a car.

Everyone else did the same, except for Lori. I could understand her not wanting to disrespect the dead, but come on. None of this stuff was doing the dead any good, and it could be the difference between life and death for us.

I ran back to the RV and emptied my backpack then started scavenging supplies. I found clothes for Sena and me, I found some badass knives, and a few non-perishable food items. Yep, we scored big time!

I checked in on Sena, who was helping Carl gather supplies for the group.

"Be careful, alright? I'm gonna go look around, see if I can find some more stuff." I told her.

She nodded and I turned around, going through a newer model jeep.

I found a shit ton of drugs and a bow and arrow set. Maybe I'd get Daryl to teach me how to use the bow.

Just then I heard Glenn and Shane hollerin' like lunatics.

I saw Shane uncork an office-sized container of water from a water truck, and pour it on himself.

"It's like being baptized man!" He yelled out.

I smiled at the sight.

"You two best save me some." I teased.

"Oh there's plenty to go around." Shane told me, still smiling.

I fumbled with my backpack and brought out mine and Sena's water bottles.

"Care to help a short shit out?" I asked, handing the bottles to him.

He grinned and pulled the water container out and helped me fill the bottles.

"Thanks." I said as I took a drink.

Just then Shane bolted forward and grabbed my arm.

"What the—f."

But I didn't get to finish talking since Shane wrapped a hand over my mouth.

He pulled me to the ground and forced me under the water truck, then got Glenn to get under the vehicle he was working on.

I heard the moans.

Hurriedly, I glanced around, looking for Sena. I found her under a truck with Autumn. I wasn't sure where Austin or the others were.

From where I was lying, I estimated about thirty walkers; maybe more. I prayed they'd pass without noticing us.

I looked at Sena. She had tears in her eyes. I felt close to tears too.

As quietly as I could I put my finger to my mouth, signaling for her to be quiet.

She nodded her little head before I lost track of her in the sea of walker legs.

* * *

We waited for what seemed like hours, even though it probably was only fifteen minutes.

The moans grew distant until we could no longer hear them. The legs were long behind us.

Cautiously, I slipped out from under the water truck. I whipped my head around and saw the tail end of the heard heading off down the highway.

I started towards Sena, but noticed a pile of dead bodies moving. My knife at the ready, I waited for them to come after me…that was, until I saw a human pop out from among the bodies.

My heart rate slowed down and I felt like I'd fall to the ground with relief. It was just Daryl.

"You asshole!" I hissed.

"I ain't dead…yet." He commented, getting up. Then he pointed to where T-Dog was fumbling his way out of the pile of bodies. "But he will be. His arm's hurt real bad."

Immediately I went to T's side and got him to let me examine his arm.

"We gotta get you inside the RV. This needs to be bandaged before you pass out from blood loss." I told him quickly. Both Daryl and I helped him to his feet.

But the quiet was short lived. Screaming and growling resounded and I feared the worst.

I looked through the mass graveyard, trying to pinpoint where the screaming was coming from.

I saw two walkers crowded around an SUV. On the side facing the forest, I saw Sophia crawling out, absolutely petrified.

Then there were more human screams. This time, Sena had been grabbed by one of those fuckers.

Before I could even call her name, Sena broke free of the walker's grasp and tripped over the guardrail, falling down the hill, into the forest. The walker that had grabbed slowly made it's way after her.

I watched Sophia head to the forest. Walkers were after her too.

I feared for the group. The screaming and snarling were sure to bring the herd back here, right? And was Sena okay? Did she fall and hit her head? So many questions filled my mind.

Quickly, I started towards the tree line, but someone held me back. I glared back at the person, who turned out to be Daryl.

Rick took off after the girls and Lori held Carol back just like Daryl was doing me.

"Let me go!" I snarled, not caring about anything except getting my little cousin back.

"You crazy girl? Those things would tear you apart." He said back.

I growled, nearing tears. Then I broke away from his grasp…and went after Autumn.

"Look what you did!" I exclaimed.

"A walker nearly got her." She stuttered.

"Yeah bitch! A walker nearly got my cousin and now she's off in the forest! Why didn't you just keep an eye on her!"

"I—I."

"Save it." I spat, walking away.

* * *

At least an hour went by. Carol and I had our eyes glued to the forest where Rick, and now Daryl had gone looking for the girls. My stomach was in knots from worry.

Shane told us they were on her trail. Those two couldn't have gone far, right?

The other women, along with Shane, Austin, Glenn, and Dale were busy moving cars so we could maneuver the RV off this hellish highway.

Carol then made a big fuss about us not leaving till the girls came back. I was right there with her. I wasn't moving till we found them.

I closed my eyes for a hot minute, praying to God, if he was still listening that is.

"Why don't you go rest?" Carol said, almost motherly.

My eyes flew open and I shook my head.

"You first." I said, attempting to lighten the mood.

Carol gave me a small smile then looked back at the forest.

"We'll find them, you know. I mean Daryl and Rick will." She said, trying to convince herself as well as me.

I nodded my head. I could feel a bit of sunburn on my face. Great.

"If Sophia and Sena were able to get together, they have a shot. Sena has a gun and a knife. I showed her how to use them." I commented, clinging to that ray of hope.

"If you showed her, then I'm sure they'll be just fine." She responded, hugging me.

I allowed myself to be optimistic. They'd turn back up in an hour or so.

* * *

Time passed and I went inside the RV to check on T-Dog.

He smirked when he saw me. "You look as good as I feel."

I chuckled at his comment and sat down on the couch. "How's the arm?"

"Hurts like hell." He admitted. "But I'll live."

I shrugged off my back pack and found the vicodin that I'd scavenged from some car.

I read the label and gave T two tablets. "Here, this should help with the pain for a while."

He thanked me and I started to leave.

"Hay, Lyla."

I turned around, facing him.

"Rick and Daryl will find your cousin. Just a matter of time."

I looked outside. It was starting to get dark. "I hope so. I just—she's only 9. Never even went to the grocery store by herself, let alone the woods."

"Don't lose hope just yet. God's looking out for that kid. It's a miracle she even made it out of Atlanta from what she told us when Daryl found her."

I smiled a bit.

"Lyla!" I heard someone yell to me.

I got up and left the RV. Carol was looking at me, then back towards the woods. Rick and Daryl were back!

"Where—where are the girls? You—didn't find them?" I asked, nearing tears.

"Their trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light." Rick told us.

"So, they're together? They found each other?" I questioned, desperate.

"They are, or at least they were for a while." Daryl answered.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods." Carol pleaded.

"Hunting in the dark's no good. We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people'd get lost." Daryl told her.

"But she's 12. She can't be out there on her own."

"If Sena and Sophia are together, they stand a chance. Sena's got a gun and a knife. She always keeps them on her. Before we got separated in Atlanta, I showed her how to use them." I said quietly, trying to believe my words.

"You didn't find anything?" Carol asked Rick.

"I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there, and found Sena. Like Lyla said, if they're together, then they'll have a better chance at survival." Rick said, trying to calm Carol down.

I felt hot tears fall down my face. I'd just found my little cousin, and now she's off in the woods, probably frightened beyond belief.

"We tracked them for a while." Daryl spoke, looking at me.

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick told us all.

"Is that—is that blood?" Carol asked.

I looked at Rick's bloodied shirt.

"What'd you guys do?!" I asked, not even bothered by the fact I was crying.

"We took down a walker." Rick informed us.

Carol started freaking out, worried her daughter had been bitten.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia." He said, then looked at me. "Or Sena."

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

"What'd you autopsy it or something?" I added.

Rick wouldn't look at anyone except for Daryl.

Daryl looked…upset too? "We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure."

I wiped my eyes and walked off. I needed to calm down.

* * *

I climbed on some abandoned car and sat on the roof. I sat and watched the sun set as it was going down. Sena loved watching sunsets.

"It's like everyone in heaven is telling us goodnight." She'd always say.

She had more faith than probably most pastors had, and she had a big heart. No one was bad or mean in her eyes.

Except for the walkers. But she understood they weren't people.

The sound of boots hitting the cracked pavement snapped me from my thoughts.

I whipped my head back towards the group and saw Rick walking towards me.

"I—I know you probably blame me for leaving the girls out there—." He started.

"No, Rick, I don't. You made a choice. You had to. I get it." I cut him off.

"They were together; running from those freaks. Sophia fell and Sena almost shot the walkers. I told her why she couldn't, and I took them to the creek. Found this hole big enough for them to hide in. They—they trusted me."

"And you did right by them. They didn't get taken out by the walkers, and you risked your life for them." I said, looking at him.

"They're missing…and it's my fault." He mumbled.

"It's not. It's the walkers. If they weren't around, we wouldn't be in this mess." I told him.

He just stared out at the forest.

"Were either of them hurt when you found them?" I asked.

He thought for a moment. "I—I think Sena had a cut on her forehead. And Sophia might have had a sprained ankle."

I nodded then teared up. "Sena's mom was a an alcoholic and pregnant when all this happened. I was pretty much the kid's mom for the first 5 years of her life. She'd never been on her own before. I always was with her, or someone was. When Atlanta got overrun—I thought for sure she was dead."

"Shane had a small group of people holed up at a quarry near Atlanta. Daryl and Merle showed up a few days later, with your cousin. And Daryl's gonna find her again, with Sophia. They've gotta just be hiding somewhere close by." He told me.

Tears fell from my eyes. All I could do was nod.

* * *

I didn't dare leave my spot, even after it got dark. Andrea had tried getting me to move but I refused. I liked being alone here.

A gust of wind picked up and I started shivering. I was just in a tank top and some shorts.

"You should be in the RV. Lot warmer in there." I heard a rough voice tell me.

I looked beside me. Daryl was staring off in the general direction I was.

"Can't sleep." I mumbled.

"Can't let you get sick either." He said, removing his flannel and handing it to me.

I took it and put it on. Instantly, I felt warmer.

"They're probably cold, and scared." I told him.

He nodded. "They won't be for long."

I just looked at him.

"We'll find them. We got a trail. They can't have gone far." He assured me.

I went back to staring down the highway, letting my mind wander.

Eventually, I guess due to just flat out exhaustion, I felt my eyes close and I drifted in and out of sleep. I was surprised I didn't feel any pain from falling off the vehicle.


	4. We Should Keep Moving

I woke up on the sofa bed in the RV. I wondered how in the world I'd gotten here. Last I remembered, I was sitting on that car on the road.

As I got up, I realized I was wearing a flannel, and I was positive it wasn't mine.

I then started fitting the pieces back together. I'd been out on the car, thinking. Daryl came and talked to me and he gave me the flannel so I wouldn't get cold.

I was touched by his concern for my well-being…but I was more worried about my sister.

Before the world went to hell, cops usually had a 48 hour window to find missing children. After that window closed, they were looking for a body. And that was before the dead rose up, outnumbering the living by a long shot.

I noticed no one else was in the stuffy RV; not that I blamed them. It was an oven in here.

Voices from outside made me get up and greet the day. The morning sun was already doing her job of cooking the earth and us as well.

Shane and others were all gathered around a car. Quietly, I joined in and listened to what the group had to say.

"Everyone takes a weapon." Rick said, gesturing to the weapons on the hood of the car.

"These aren't the kid of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Miss Wanna-Be-Badass Andrea pouted, cocking her hip to the side.

"We've been over that." Shane said, like a father reprimanding his child. "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." She argued.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a heard happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." He said, ending the argument.

I couldn't help but smirk. She was just pissed and wanted to prove she could run with the boys.

"Something funny?" She questioned, looking dead at me.

"Nope." I said, popping the "p". "Just waiting for you to quit bitching so I can find my cousin and Carol can find her daughter."

She glared at me and went back to sulking over not having a gun. I stepped up and grabbed a nice sharp machete. I was perfectly okay with using these instead of guns.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles; turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are they'll be by the creek. It's their only landmark." Daryl said before walking off to loot a car before we left.

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." Rick advised.

"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane told us.

I un shouldered my backpack and loaded it up with enough provisions for me and Sena, if we found her.

"_**No, dammit, you're gonna find her. She ain't dead!" **_ The voice in my head reminded me.

I took a breath and gathered my thoughts. We would find Sophia and Sena. They would be just fine, and in a day or so we'd be on the way to Fort Benning.

* * *

Just then I noticed Dale and Andrea arguing.

I rolled my eyes at the sight and went to where Daryl, Carl, and Austin were. So far, they were the least dramatic people in this group.

"The drama queen's at it again." I mumbled.

"I'd do her if she didn't have that damn mouth on her." Austin said bluntly.

I looked at him, laughing. "You're horrible."

He smirked. "Hay, I'm just telling the truth."

I flipped him off as he walked away to talk to his sister.

I then took this moment to thank the man who was selflessly leading us to look for my cousin and Carol's daughter.

"You don't have to do this." I told him.

"You wanna let those girls starve out there?" He retorted.

I sighed. "No, I mean you don't have to lead the search. It means a lot that you are though."

"You're acting like we already found them." He grumbled.

"We will. They couldn't have gotten far and like you said, the only land mark they have is the crick."

He noticed the way I said "creek".

"Virginia born and raised. Parents were real southern." I explained.

Daryl then looked around the group and nodded to Rick. Wordlessly, the group started off into the woods. I followed Shane, with Glenn behind me.

* * *

As we walked, Autumn caught up to me.

"Just think, today—maybe tomorrow, we'll be on the way to Fort Benning. The girls will be with us and someone at the base will give us some fucking answers for all this mess." She rambled on.

I did my best to ignore her and focused on walking.

"Look, I know I screwed up. I should have gotten that walker away from her; but honestly, it happened so fast. I thought for sure we'd both be dead."

Again I ignored her, but it was getting harder to do so. She was my best friend after all.

"I know you're mad at me. I—I just want you to talk to me; tell me how to make things right."

I sighed and finally talked to her. "I'm—I'm not mad at you. I mean yeah, yesterday I was. I was pissed, but today—today let's just focus on finding the girls. They could be hiding anywhere."

She acknowledged my reply and we continued stalking through the woods.

* * *

After a while, Daryl and Rick found a campsite. I waited beside Andrea.

"They could be in there." Shane admitted, smiling a bit at me.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl shot back.

Reluctantly, I had to agree with Daryl. Who knows what could be in that tent.

Daryl and Rick started forward; Rick signaling us to stay back. Shane took off with them too.

I stood up with Carol and waited anxiously while Daryl checked the tent over.

"Carol! Lyla!" Rick hissed, waving a hand for us to come over.

Immediately I shot forward with Carol right behind me.

Rick walked us close to the tent. "Call out softly. Carol, you go first, then Lyla. If they're in there, your voices are the first ones they should hear."

Carol looked at the tent worriedly as she called out. "Sophia, sweetie. Are you in there? Sophia, it's mommy."

The woman looked saddened and stepped back as I stepped up to call out.

"Sena? Sena, baby come on out. It's me, Lyla. We found you." I mumbled out, feeling my heart beat faster and more erratically with every second that went by.

There was no reply to either of our voices. There was no movement, no sign of life in that tent.

I held back the tears, praying they were just too scared to answer or sleeping.

Rick and Shane backed Daryl up as he unzipped the tent.

I bit my lip to keep from running head first into the damned thing and finding out who or what was in there.

I noticed Daryl cough before he went inside the tent. Rick and Shane also gagged as they held the flap open.

From where I was standing, I caught a whiff of something nasty…like something rotting.

"Daryl?" Carol called out.

My dwindling hope was dying, and officially passed on when Daryl stepped out of the tent, childless.

"It ain't them." The redneck told us.

Carol gave me a sorrowful look and then turned her eyes to Lori.

I just closed mine. I focused on breathing and not letting these damn tears fall.

"_**You're stronger than this dammit! Lyla, get your shit together! We WILL find Sophia and Sena. They will be just fine…"**_

I cursed my weakness to the news that my cousin wasn't in there.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Autumn.

I gave her a grateful look and held her hand. We may not be biological sisters, but dammit she was more family to me than most of the sorry pricks I was related to.

"What's in there?" Andrea asked in a solemn tone.

"Some guy." Daryl informed us with indifference. Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

Just then, we heard…CHURCH BELLS! I recognized that sound anywhere.

Without hesitation, I sprinted towards the sound, inching ahead of Rick and the rest of the group.

* * *

After running for about half a mile, I stopped and listened. I needed to find out where exactly those bells and that church were.

Not far off, I heard the rest of the group.

They finally caught up to me.

"They're close." I told Rick before running off in the direction I believed the sounds were coming from.

"Lyla!" I heard someone yell, but I was too concerned with finding that church to really give a damn. I've pissed people off before and most of the time, they lived.

* * *

As I ran, the bells' sounds grew louder. Eventually, I came to a clearing and tripped over a moss-covered rock.

I swore as my ankle throbbed in pain. My hands felt their share of pain as well. Turns out, they'd landed in a small briar patch. Just my luck.

The bells tolled again and I got to my feet, attempting to stabilize myself. I looked around and frowned.

There was no steeple here. There were no visible bells.

I decided to wait on Rick's group before venturing further. I didn't want to get into trouble I couldn't outrun or outwit. There was no telling what or who was in the church.

* * *

I started picking the briars out of my hands while waiting for the group.

It didn't take them long to catch up to me, but I barely noticed…until someone grabbed my arm.

"The hell you think you are, girl? Huh? Just taking off into the woods like that? Coulda brought a whole group of walkers on our asses!" Daryl growled at me.

He looked disgusted.

"You see any? No, that's cuz there aren't any. Now let me go, and fuck off for' I chop your dick off." I replied, angry.

Daryl didn't reply, but released my arm and returned to the group which was now running for the church.

I started running with what little steam I had left. This heat and humidity was taking its toll on me.

* * *

Rick led us to the entrance of the church with Daryl and Shane backing him up. Together, the redneck and small town cop opened the doors.

From what I could see inside, corpses were lurking; about three or four of them.

I shed my pack and threw it to Autumn before grabbing my machete. Daryl handed his crossbow off to Glenn while Rick accepted a knife from his wife.

Rick took the left, Daryl went to the right, and I went straight down the middle. Shane took out a second dead bastard on the right.

I could tell the person I was about to kill, used to be beautiful. Their hair was still a light shade of brown and she had a pretty Sunday dress on.

But the second she charged at me, I sank my machete in her brain. She dropped to the floor, but it wasn't good enough. Full of adrenaline, I swung my weapon several more times, getting covered in more and more gore each time.

When I'd finished turning the walker's head into play dough, I stepped back and looked around. Realization set in. Sophia and Sena weren't here.

I looked down at the mushified walker at my feet as Rick screamed for the two lost children.

Daryl asked the Jesus statue if it was taking requests, then looked at me before walking away.

Feeling drained, I walked towards the entrance/exit of the church.

* * *

Suddenly, more bells chimed. This time, everyone knew we were at the right church.

Daryl shot forward, shoving past me. I started running too, trying to find out where the bells were.

That's when we saw the sound system…and the timer.

"A timer. It's on a timer." Daryl said, breathless.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Carol said quietly. I didn't blame her.

This was just another dead end.

I frowned as I took my bag back from Autumn.

"You need me, I'll be up a tree." I told her.

She nodded, knowing exactly what I needed.

Whenever I needed to be alone or was upset, I'd climb a tree and just sit and soak in everything. It was how I coped.

* * *

Since trees surrounded the church, it didn't take me long to find one that I could climb.

Nimbly, I climbed up the tree and kept climbing till I was about 20 to 30 feet off the ground. I found a sturdy limb and rested on it, admiring the bird's eye view I had of this place.

That's when I remembered the pain in my hands. I glanced at them and noticed they were torn up and bloody.

I removed some alcohol and some bandages from my bag and went to work treating my wounds.

The antiseptic reminded me of my piercings. I needed to clean them before they got infected.

As I did, I really sat and thought about my lip ring. I'd been wanting my lip pierced since I was 15, but now that the world was gone…I didn't know if I wanted it anymore or not. If I fell or if someone hit me there, I could rip my lip open or it could get infected or whatever.

On impulse I fiddled with the ring and threw it into the grassy oblivion below me.

Just then, I heard a pair of feet walking towards my tree.

I looked down and saw Daryl.

"What're you doing up there, girl? You ain't no damn bird." He commented.

I rolled my eyes and flipped him off.

"No, I'm a freaking fish out of water." I growled.

He remained silent for a while, just holding the strap of his crossbow.

"There something you want, Daryl? If you didn't get the hint, I want to be alone." I said honestly.

He continued looking at me. "Yeah, I got the hint and it don't mean a damn thing. Rick and Shane are gonna stay here a little while longer; see if the girls show up. The rest of us are heading back to the highway. That means you too."

I growled to myself and threw my bag.

"Heads up." I said as he caught it.

Then I maneuvered myself down the tall tree and back onto solid ground.

I won't swear to it, but I thought I saw Daryl look…impressed.

He then handed my bag back to me.

"Thanks." I told him, shouldering it.

* * *

The walk back was long, disheartening, and tiring.

Daryl allowed us to stop near some fallen trees and catch our breath.

"So this is it? This is the whole plan?" Carol asked.

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl observed.

I had to admit, this group did have a habit of spreading itself thin.

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks." Andrea bitched. She then noticed Lori's gun. "I see you have a gun."

"Why? You want it?" Lori shot back, obviously irritated. "Here, take it."

Now that she was being handed a gun, Andrea looked scared. I wanted to laugh at the irony.

"I'm sick of the looks you're giving me; all of you." Lori finished, sitting down.

She then spoke to Carol. "When those girls ran, he didn't hesitate did he? Not for a second! I don't know that any of us would have gone after them the way he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make or that anybody could have done it any differently."

I sighed. She was right. This group had to pull together.

"We should keep moving." Andrea said, handing Lori back her gun.


	5. Dick Problems

_Tears cascaded down my face. My chest was being torn open and I could barely breathe. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the, now blurry, car crash scene before me. The bloody pulp that was in front of me was my friend. The next mutilated figure was her mom._

_I was almost ten and had seen more death than most people my age should see. I'd watched my nannie die a slow, painful death at the hands of cancer. My papa, my nannie's husband, died just a few months ago._

_Now, I was being carried away from the corpses of my friend and her mother. We'd been going to the skating ring. Some idiot ran a light and hit us head on. Kaiylee, my friend, had almost a whole window of glass shoved into her skull. She died a day after the accident. _

_Her mother ended up dying only minutes after the crash. Her seatbelt cut into her neck, severing an artery._

_And me—Lyla Jayne Mathers was the soul survivor. I don't know how, but I ended up with only a few cuts, some bruises, and enough emotional trauma to kill someone three times over._

* * *

As we kept walking, Lori lagged behind and looked around the woods we had walked through.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked, making us all stop.

"It was a gunshot." The woman stated.

"We all heard it." Daryl reminded her.

"Why one? Why just one gunshot?" Lori pressed.

"Maybe they took down a walker." Daryl suggested.

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker; or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

"Maybe it wasn't them shooting." I offered.

"Maybe there are other survivors." Glenn said optimistically.

"Shouldn't they have caught up to us by now?" Carol asked.

"There's nothing we can do about it anyway. Can't run around these woods chasing echoes." Daryl spoke authoritatively.

"So what do we do?" Lori asked.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sena and Sophia, work our way back to the highway." He said quickly.

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Andrea assured Lori who was worried sick over her husband.

Andrea then spoke to Carol about losing Sophia. "We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."

Daryl then got all riled up.

"I'll tell you what it's worth—not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hoping and praying. Cause we're gonna locate those little girls—."

He then looked to me. "Both of them."

"And they're gonna be just fine." He said with finality.

* * *

As we trudged on, I felt my heart weigh me down. Sena was still out there. She was a scared nine year old that got lost in the woods in a walker filled world.

I replayed Daryl's words in my mind. He'd been so adamant that we'd find the girls and they'd be okay…but I wasn't stupid, and I wasn't clinging to foolish hope.

In the world before all this, those two had a fair chance at surviving. Now, their chances had dropped to almost zero.

Those damn tears sprang to my eyes as I tried to shake the thoughts of losing my only family in this horrible world.

"It can't rain all the time." I mumbled to myself, thinking of a movie I'd seen before the world ended.

"I wish it'd rain, right now." Lori huffed.

I chuckled, thankful for a distraction. "It'd be a welcome change."

After our little chuckles died down, the brunette looked at me. "How you holding up?"

I began counting the trees to keep from crying. "Been better."

"You heard Daryl, we'll find them." She said solemnly.

"He better be good at predicting the future." I said, gritting my teeth.

I wasn't giving up on finding my baby girl; not as long as people were willing to help me look for her.

* * *

"We'll loose the light before too long. I think we should call it." Daryl told us.

We'd been walking almost all day. My limbs were ready to fall off and my feet were on fire.

I looked at my best friend. Her red cheeks and sweaty brow showed how long this day had been.

"Let's head back." Lori agreed.

"We'll pick it up tomorrow?" Carol asked, mirroring my same question.

"Yeah, we'll find them tomorrow." Lori told her and me hastily.

Daryl whistled out, signaling us to follow him.

As we walked on, we grew more and more fatigued. The sun was almost setting.

"How much farther?" Lori questioned.

"Bout a hundred yards; as the crow flies." He said, absentmindedly.

"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea scoffed, plowing her way along with us.

I chuckled a bit, and stopped to sip on some water.

That's when someone decided to scream.

"Andrea?" Lori asked, trying to figure out who was yelling.

We all ran towards the source of the noise.

Sure enough it was Andrea crawling away from a walker. Daryl raised his crossbow to take it out, but some horse came through. The rider knocked the fucking dead thing on it's ass with a baseball bat.

"Fucking hell!" I exclaimed.

The rider slowed their horse and called out. "Lori, Lori Grimes?"

Lori freaked and responded.

"Rick sent me. You gotta come now!" the woman rider told Lori.

"What?"

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's still alive, but you've got to come now." She told Lori, as well as everyone else.

Lori just stared in disbelief.

"Rick needs you. Just come!"

Lori snapped out of her trance and took off her backpack and handed it to me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa we don't know this girl!" Daryl shouted out. "You can't get on that horse!"

"She can if she damn well pleases!" I retorted.

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" The woman asked, ignoring me and Daryl.

She then spewed directions to wherever she was taking Lori to Glenn. Hopefully he caught them.

And in a second, they were off, galloping away, leaving us speechless.

Daryl was the first to break the tension by growling at the walker who tried to attack Andrea. He put a bolt through its head and we continued walking.

I went to Andrea to try and help her up. She just glared at me.

"I don't need any help." She spat, walking on.

"_Well fuck you too."_ I thought.

* * *

Glenn was the first person to reach the highway. Since that lady came and took Lori, he'd been leading the group.

Dale met up with us, shocked by what had transpired.

"All I know, is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn informed him.

"You let her?" He accused.

"Climb down out of my ass old man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's." Daryl said, walking away.

"And I heard screams. Was that you?" Dale asked Andrea.

I just glared at the bitch as she brushed him off like pond scum.

"She got attacked by a walker. It was a close call." Glenn said, breathless.

"Andrea, are you alright?" The old guy asked in worry.

She stared back at Dale in disgust.

Dumb bitch should've got bitten.

"Lil bitch." I heard Autumn mutter.

I nodded as I walked to the spot me, Auutmn, and Austin had staked out.

It was like our own little campsite, away from the others. We were still the odd men out to them.

Austin opened up some corned beef hash and dug in.

"What could be better?" He asked sarcastically, passing the food around.

"I'm not hungry." I told him, staring out at the woods.

He smirked. "Come on Ly, don't be like that."

Before I could say anything else, we heard the rest of the group arguing.

* * *

I rose up and joined in, wondering what was going on.

"What the hell ya'll arguing about now?" I asked.

"They wanna stop looking for the girls." Carol looked at me with heartbroken eyes.

She then looked to her group. "We can't just leave."

"I'm with Carol on this. I ain't leaving my cousin and her daughter out there." I said, growing upset.

"The group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale said, stating the facts.

"What if they come back and we're not here? It could happen." Carol retorted.

"Damn right it could." I agreed.

"If the girls found their way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea said, actually earning some brownie points with me. At least she was on mine and Carol's side.

Everyone was silent. The 'mini group' was torn between going or staying.

Quietly, I looked around, pleading with everyone who met my eyes. We had to stay.

Finally I looked at Daryl.

He averted his eyes from side to side before nodding his head.

"Okay. We gotta plan for this." He said, looking at me. "I say tomorrow's soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us time to rig a big sign, leave them some supplies. I'll hold here tonight; stay with the RV."

"If the RV is staying, I am too." Dale chimed in.

"Thank you. Thank you both." Carol uttered gratefully.

Daryl bowed his head, acknowledging her thanks.

"No question here. I'm staying." I said calmly.

"I'm in too." Andrea added.

"Well if you're all staying, then I'm—."

"Not you Glenn. You're going." Dale told Glenn. "Take Carol's Cherokee."

"Me? Why is it always me?" Glenn asked, agitated.

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people, and see what's going on."

Glenn just rolled his eyes.

"But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection." The old man stressed. "Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics…because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke."

I turned to Autumn and Austin. "Ya'll should go too."

"We ain't leaving you." Autumn told me.

I sighed. "You don't have to do this. Glenn might need your help and I think I'll be alright. Go get you some rest. I'll meet back up with you and Austin tomorrow."

Reluctantly, the siblings consented and decided to go with Glenn.

* * *

I looked to poor T. He didn't look good at all. And I felt worse since I didn't have anything other than ibuprofen, vicodin, and some allergy meds to give the injured guy.

Daryl stalked off to his motorcycle, taking a rag off the handle and digging through the side pouch.

My eyes widened when he brought out a whole bag of drugs.

"Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle." He said, throwing the rag at Dale.

"Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash; Crystal, X, don't need that." Daryl mumbled, going through the bag.

"Got some kick ass painkillers." He mentioned, tossing a bottle to Glenn.

"Oxycycline. Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class." Daryl continued, giving Dale the second bottle. "Merle got the clap on occasion."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at Daryl's nonchalant-ness about his brother's dick problems.


	6. 16 Year Old Rape Victim?

Night came quickly. T and the others were already on their way to the farm while Carol, Andrea, Daryl, and me piled into the RV. Dale took watch outside, which made me question if the guy ever slept.

As weariness set in, I closed my eyes in an attempt to sleep. However, Andrea kept fiddling with her gun and Carol kept crying.

I sympathized with her. She'd lost the only good thing left in this world. Her hope of regaining Sophia was waning with each passing hour.

Quietly, I got up off my sofa bed and saw Andrea. She cast me a less than friendly look, but I ignored it and sat in front of her.

"Can't sleep?" I asked in almost a whisper.

She acted like I wasn't there and continued messing with her gun.

I pressed on. "Look, I—I know I was kinda bitchy to you this morning. Just wanted to say I'm sorry. I get it, you're going through some shit and I know you don't know me very well, but if you want, you can talk to me. I'm a pretty good listener."

She gave me a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

I returned the smile, slightly happier that I'd mended things with Andrea.

Just then we heard a loud sigh from the one and only Daryl. He rose up and grabbed his crossbow.

"I need my clip now." He mumbled.

Andrea handed it to him, curious.

"I'm gonna walk the road, look for the girls." He explained, looking at me.

I almost teared up. "Thank you, really, but I can't ask you to. It's dark and anything could be out there."

He grunted. "No one's asking. I'm offering."

I thanked him again and watched as he went out.

Andrea then got up and followed him.

"He'll need someone to have his back." She told me before running after him.

I huffed out a long breath. Guess it was just me and my thoughts now.

* * *

After sitting alone for several moments, I grabbed a pack of smokes from my bag and went outside.

I almost cried in relief when the cooler air hit me. The RV was hot as hell. Kala had walked out with me, panting.

"I know girl, I know." I said, rubbing her head.

I climbed up to the roof of the ancient vehicle and joined Dale.

"Want one?" I asked, offering him a cigarette.

He shook his head. "Not much of a smoker."

I lit up and stared off into the night. Everything seemed so different while the sun was hiding.

"Gorgeous night." I commented.

"Considering everything that's happened." He admitted.

I plopped down and stared up at the sky. Sena and Sophia could see the sky too. They'd be able to see the sun tomorrow.

For some reason that gave me comfort.

"Not much of a talker are ya?" Dale asked.

I smirked, blowing some smoke out. "Not really. Never had much to say."

He smiled and looked at me. "Well, why don't we talk; get to know each other."

I sat back up and stole a glance at the woods. "Okay. Ain't like I got anything else to do."

"That's the spirit." He chuckled.

I managed to laugh a bit too.

"Where'd you grow up?"

I flicked off some ash and took another drag. "Small town in Virginia. Ghost town, really. You?"

"Traveled mostly. But my license says Ohio." He responded.

"Man, I don't even think I have my license anymore." I commented.

"Never leave without it." He said, pulling out a small wallet and handing me his ID.

I looked at it, admiring how he was so optimistic about the future, or maybe so nostalgic about the past.

"And that's my wife." He said, handing me a picture.

I smiled at the happy couple. Dale and his wife really looked sweet together.

"What happened?" I asked bluntly.

"Cancer. Pancreatic cancer. Inoperable. Died before all this." He said, not looking at me.

"I lost my nannie to pancreatic cancer when I was five. I know how bad it can be." I said, trying to take the edge off our conversation.

"The only good thing is, she doesn't have to see what the world's become now." Dale mused.

"You have any other family that maybe made it? Any kids, grandkids?" I asked.

The old guy shook his head. "Nah, my wife was all I had. Never had any kids."

I finally stubbed out my cigarette and reached for another. Again, I offered one to him. This time he took it.

"What about you? Any family still around?"

"Really, I don't know. I was with my friend Autumn when everything went to hell. When I went home to get some things, my parents were gone. I grabbed Kala and we booked it to Atlanta." I explained.

Dale then glanced down at Kala. "She's a smart dog. Been helping me keep an eye on T and the RV."

I chuckled. "That's my girl."

Carol then popped her head up as she joined us on the roof of the RV.

I yawned out and decided I'd try and sleep while the RV was less crowded.

Carol gave me a small smile as I passed her. I returned it and touched her shoulder, signifying that we were in this together.

When I got down and went inside, Kala joined me. Together we snuggled up on the sofa bed, attempting to catch a few hours of sleep before sunrise.

* * *

_I walked home from my Aunt's house. It was after dark. As I checked my phone, I saw that it was after 9._

"_Shit. Dad's gonna be pissed." I thought to myself._

_Several raised voices could be heard nearby. Quickly, I looked around and saw a few guys walking in my direction. _

_I hastened my step and turned around, hoping they didn't notice me. _

_But they followed me. _

_From what I could tell, they were drunk as fuck…and they belonged to a gang. _

_Fear gripped my by the throat, threatening to choke me. _

_Silently, I prayed. I prayed they'd go away, and I prayed they wouldn't notice me._

_The men continued their drunken ramblings getting closer and closer to me. _

_Would I be just another 16 year old rape victim?_


	7. Stay Awake!

Dread, anger, and fear pulled me from my sleep.

As I opened my eyes, Kala nudged me with her cold nose.

"A'ight. A'ight. I'm up." I told my dog.

Once she saw that I was awake, she went to the door and pawed at it.

Just then Andrea appeared. I noticed she was wearing the same clothes from yesterday. I was too. Hell, I'd forgotten the last time I'd even washed the jeans I was wearing; maybe a month ago?

She cast me a smile and let Kala out. "You look like shit."

I chuckled as I drank some water and attempted to find a way to control my disgusting hair.

"Guys have it so much easier." I mumbled, earning a laugh from Andrea.

I then got way more excited about a headband than I should have.

"You don't have to tell me." Andrea said, amused by my enthusiasm about a headband. "The first time I found laundry detergent I think I did a dance."

We both laughed as we exited the scorching vehicle.

* * *

My good mood slowly edged away as we continued to make a sign for Sophia and Sena.

We were leaving…might as well say we're giving up.

"Hello? Earth to Lyla." I heard a voice say.

Andrea looked at me pointedly.

"S—sorry." I mumbled, handing her some supplies to leave.

Daryl then came over and told us we were getting ready to leave.

Carol face mirrored mine. We were both sad to be abandoning the girls, but everyone else was right.

We had to meet back up with Rick and the others.

But that didn't stop me from placing one last item on the hood of the car we'd rigged up for the girls; my teddy bear.

Everyone looked at me, like they felt sorry for me.

But they didn't feel sorry. Probably the only one who was sorry was Carol. We just had what was left of our family stripped away from us.

I wished everyone else would just stop looking at me like I was going to break down any second.

"C'mon. We're wasting daylight." Daryl said quietly, getting on his bike.

Carol got in a car we fixed up while Andrea, Dale, me, and Kala got in the RV.

* * *

The drive wasn't very long, and quickly I realized this was an actual farm. I smiled in spite of myself. I hadn't been on a farm since I was a kid.

The ancient vehicle creaked to a stop and I clambered out, enjoying the feel of the open space. Over the past few days, I'd become quite claustrophobic.

Rick, and a crap load of other people came outside. I ran to Autumn and hugged her.

"Carl okay? What about T?" I asked panicked.

"They're okay. They're gonna be just fine." She told me.

"Thanks to Hershel, and his people." Lori said, explaining to everyone that her son was going to live.

"And Shane. We would've lost Carl if not for him." Rick finished.

I glanced at Shane, who looked awful in some hand-me-down clothes.

Everyone group hugged while I went to Shane.

"You did good." I said simply. That was all my inner shyness would allow me to say.

Shane gave me a crooked grin and nodded his head.

"Ya'll come on." Hershel commanded. "We're just about to hold a memorial for Otis."

I looked around in confusion, but no one dared to tell me who Otis was.

* * *

We all gathered around a stone pile, even Kala joined in, sitting there as if she knew what was happening. There were a few stones left in a wheel barrow and a cute little blonde chick took one out and put it on the pile. Some young guy did the same, then an older blonde.

"Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Praise be to Him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died, as lived; in grace."

I looked at the ground, in discomfort. It'd be just our luck that we'd found a religious nut in the middle of hell.

I shook my head at my thoughts. I shouldn't say the guy was a nut. At one time I was a praying girl; went to church, went on mission trips…

"Shane, will you speak for Otis?" Hershel requested.

"I'm not good at it." He said, looking at the ground.

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." The older blonde pleaded through tears. Guess she was his wife or girlfriend.

Shane seemed to go into a comatose. "Meaning."

In concern, I touched his arm lightly.

He looked at me as if I'd snapped him out of his trance.

"We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We gotta save the boy'. See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you'. And when I looked back…" Shane paused in his tale and looked around.

I shivered involuntarily. He honestly looked like he'd checked out.

Shane them limped forward, placing a stone on the pile.

"If not for Otis, I wouldn't have made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his." He said, forcefully.

The poor woman cried and nodded her head.

But that look didn't leave Shane's face. It was a look that sent cold chills down your spine.

"_**Note to self. Avoid Shane."**_

* * *

After parking the RV under the old oak tree, Rick called me and Carol over to him and Hershel.

"Hershel, this is Carol, Sophia's mom. And Lyla is Sena's cousin." The group leader told the man.

"How long have these girls been missing?" He asked.

Andrea, Shane, and Daryl gathered around the map with us.

"This'll be day three." Rick said, looking at me and Carol.

Carol's face fell and she turned to walk back into the RV.

I grimaced and looked at the ground.

One of Hershel's people, I think his daughter, came over to us with a map.

"County survey map. Shows terrain, and elevations." The woman told us, sprawling the map out.

"This is perfect." Shane admitted.

"We can finally get this thing organized." Rick said with renewed enthusiasm. "We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

A tiny sliver of hope bubbled in me. Things were starting to look a little better.

"Not you. Not today." Hershel ordered Rick. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out."

He then looked to Shane. "And your ankle—push it now and you'll be laid up a month; no good to anybody."

I sighed. Half our team wasn't well enough to even begin searching.

"Guess it's just me." Daryl speculated. "I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there."

"I can still be useful." Shane said, not wanting to be confined to resting. "I'll drive up to the interstate, see if they wandered back."

"I ain't sitting around all day. I can go back to that church we were at, who knows, maybe they found it after the incident with Carl." I offered.

"No, I can't let you do that." Rick said, shaking his head.

"Why not? I can take care of myself and almost no one is going out and looking for them." I said way harsher than I had intended.

"You wanna find your cousin. We get it." Shane started in on me, just like he did Andrea. "But having you out there by yourself is way too risky."

"Daryl's doing it. He's gonna be out there by himself. The only reason you're freaking is cuz I'm a girl, right?" I asked, angry.

Everyone shut up, not wanting to admit that that's what they thought. I just scoffed.

"Alright. Hows about you and Daryl take the creek?" Shane asked.

"Fine by me, as long as we find those girls." I stated.

I then looked at Daryl to make sure he was okay with me going with him.

He just nodded.

"Alright. Tomorrow then. We'll do this right." Rick said, determined.

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane pushed.

Really he was right. Lori and Carol didn't even know HOW to use a gun.

Thankfully, the end of the world taught me what I knew about shooting.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel argued.

I nearly dropped my jaw in surprise. Did they not get walkers here?

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here…" Shane said, remembering the highway.

"Look we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick insisted, laying his gun down.

Shane joined his gun with Rick's, clearly upset with handing it over.

I just kept silent, not mentioning that I had about three guns hidden among my bags.

Hay, a girl never reveals all her secrets.

"First things first: set up camp, find the girls." Rick said, making a plan for us.

Shane then gave me a look before talking. "I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find them and one or both of them are bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

I glared at him. "Simple. Put 'em down."

Rick, Daryl, Andrea, and Shane all looked at me like I was mental.

I was just stating the truth.

"You do what has to be done." Rick said, changing my words around to sound better.

"And what about the other girl's mother? What do you tell her?" Hershel's daughter asked.

"The truth." Andrea explained.

I sighed, letting the thought of them or even just one of them being bitten sink in. It terrified me, but I knew I'd want someone to end things for me if it came to that.

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons; make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane announced.

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick insisted.

Finally Hershel nodded his consent.

"Thank you." Rick told the man gratefully.

I noticed Daryl walk away, so I followed him.

"You leaving yet?" I asked.

"Gonna take a piss, then I'm gone." He told me curtly.

I then went and grabbed my bug bag. It had everything I'd need to survive if I got lost or stranded. It also had two guns, fully loaded.

* * *

I waited by the front of the house for Daryl.

Rick came out and sat down on the steps. "You sure about going with Daryl?"

I nodded and scanned the area for any signs of him. "Yep. If the fucker hasn't left already that is."

We then heard footsteps and saw the rough redneck walking past us.

I bolted after him and suddenly stopped when Rick asked Daryl a question.

"You okay with her going too?"

"I'd be better on my own." Daryl said coldly. "Don't worry. We'll be back before dark."

I bit my lip to keep from cursing at him.

"Hay, we got a base. We can get this search properly organized now." Rick told him, not quite finished talking.

"You got a point or we just chatting?" Daryl asked rudely.

"My point is it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

Daryl then stalked off towards the woods. I tailed behind him.

"My other plans fell through." Daryl mumbled.

* * *

"You didn't have to be such an ass." I commented as we stalked the woods.

"Says you." He retorted, picking up the pace.

I huffed and attempted to keep up with him.

"No, you had a choice and you chose to be an ass."

"Whatever." He said, looking around.

I paused to take a sip from my water bottle and looked down, hearing a weird noise.

Freaking out, I dropped my water.

Daryl whipped his head around and I pointed to near my feet.

He looked down in confusion and saw at least a 2 foot rattler only inches from my feet.

"Daryl, kill it." I told him in a soft voice.

He nodded as he unsheathed his knife.

I looked at the snake and it hissed at me, showing its ugly mouth. Unnerved by its hissing, I tried to ease back, but I only succeeded in tripping over a tree root and landing on my butt.

I only had time to look back at the snake before it struck me, biting through the worn jeans I was wearing.

Without thinking, I screamed in blind pain. It was like lightning being injected into me.

I was focusing on the pain so much that I didn't even realize that Daryl had gotten the snake away from me and cut its head off.

He stooped to my level, examining where I was bitten. Already there was a small amount of blood accumulating around the area.

"How you feeling?" He asked, making me look at him.

"It hurts really bad." I admitted, feeling horrible.

I then felt myself wanting to sleep.

"Aye, stay with me Ly." Daryl said sharply.

I nodded, trying to stay awake.

He then proceeded to place some chewing tobacco on the bite and wrapped it in a bandage from my bag.

Then we heard the moans. Walkers had heard me screaming. Shit!

Daryl then grabbed his crossbow then lifted me.

"Don't worry, I got ya." He commented as he hustled.

The pain in my leg started turning into tingling and I grew more tired.

"_**Stay awake, Lyla!"**_


End file.
